Level of Vanity
by Aura
Summary: A retelling of Sephiroth's story. What if he'd had someone there to help him? Could they save him from his horrible fate or be drawn into one of their own? Altering events. Seph x OC.
1. On the Surface

_Notes:_ No I don't own FF7. No I don't make money from this. It's all in good fun. It should go without saying but I don't want anyone to sue me ;)

_Summary:_ A retelling of Sephiroth's story. What if he'd had someone there to help him? Could they save him from his horrible fate or be drawn into one of their own? Altering events. Seph x OC.

**Chapter One:** _On the Surface_

_If there is a single quality that is shared by all great men, it is vanity. But I mean by "vanity" only that they appreciate their own worth. Without this kind of vanity they would not be great. And with vanity alone, of course, a man is nothing. _

_**-Yousef Karsh**_

The place was deceptively clean and tidy, everything having an exact order and place. Shinra headquarters was the perfect example of the company; the surface was beautiful but beneath there was always a hidden depravity. Even most of the workers wandering the lovely halls of the main building had no idea the corruption that had worked itself into the very core of the association.

As magnificent as the surface were the appearances of most of the higher level workers within the SOLDIER sub-sect of the military. The first class tier at least seemed composed of unique and gifted individuals.

Sephiroth was settled against one of the walls his bodies position an image of classical aloofness. Long silver hair mostly behind him but with bangs framing his face and reflecting the slight teal glow of his eyes. His tall but thin frame wouldn't normally cast a grand warrior but he remained the hero of Midgar and it's people.

Much to the chagrin of the red clad Genesis nearby. The beautiful man also didn't follow the general thought of a warrior, more a actor or playboy. Coffee colored hair settled about his face but had a roguish quality to both his face and hair neither of his fellow 1st class SOLDIER's possessed. He was sitting on one of the desks with the book for LOVELESS settled in his lap as he continued to re-read the play for what had to have been one of thousands of times.

The final of the three main fighters for the specialist group of the military; Angeal, actually managed to look the part with wider shoulders and a general appearance that was more masculine. A wide buster blade was on his back and he was standing with his arms crossed watching the approaching Director of Operations with a measuring gaze.

Even the would-be leader was handsome in his own nerdy sort of way. Glasses settled on his childish face helping to make him seem older and more the intellectual. He glanced between them as he made his walk to his desk and took a seat. "I realize that you all have a few days off and there isn't a current threat we need to address. However, with a new 1st class being seated I thought it would be best if you met her."

"Her?" Genesis was the first to actually be curious, his attention perking temporarily from his favorite literary work.

"Indeed. Her name is Evelyn Demilune and I expect you'll take some care when you first begin to work with her. She's only recently attained the new rank and has been working with another sub-group of Shinra until her promotion." Lazard explained without looking at the group, pulling up whatever general work he had to do. "She'll be waiting in the training room. I want you to all test her over the next few days and give me your thoughts on her general level of expertise."

"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end. The goddess descends from the sky." Genesis commented as he headed toward the door.

Angeal followed without comment, Sephiroth eyed Lazard a moment longer than the other two before falling in line behind his friends.

"So much for a vacation eh?" Angeal joked as the three moved down the hall from the office toward the training room.

Sephiroth smiled a little at his friends comment, offering a slight shrug and Genesis was leading the way as they moved into the training room. No image was in session but a girl was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Giving them all a chance to look at her.

She was a dirty blond, her hair a little darker than the golden hues of the president or his son, but still obviously a bit more yellow than brown. She was wearing the uniform of a 1st class SOLDIER albeit the female version, though she was tiny in comparison to the taller men entering the room there was a smile that broke onto her young features when they headed inside. Her eyes were a pale robin egg blue with the gentle glow that tended to accompany those whose bodies had been infused with mako.

She got up and moved toward them with the same cheery look on her face, failing to compliment any of her fellow co-workers at all. "I was wondering when Lazard would get around to asking you to see me. I didn't think he'd send all of you at once."

"You are Evelyn then?" Angeal spoke up as the other two still seemed to be measuring her up.

"Yes." She offered a slightly wry smile as she held a hand out to shake Angeal's much larger one. She had to have been at least a foot and half shorter than any of the men but she didn't seem taken aback or nervous. Unlike most of them and in difference to much of the uniforms of Shinra her hands were free of gloves. "It is good to meet you Angeal, Genesis, and...Sephiroth."

It took her a moment of pause on the 'hero' of the city, eyes lingering on the silver haired warrior as if he was curious.

"We have another one." Genesis commented. "She's already a fan I think."

Angeal smiled a bit as Sephiroth sighed at the implication and her attention turned back to Genesis.

"Forgive Genesis. He's a little bitter that his fan club isn't as big." Angeal commented, holding back the impish grin at the glare his childhood friend sent him. "Lazard asked us to work with you for a while."

"Testing me out huh?" She said it more like it was a statement than a question. Winking at Angeal given his help mediating the social aspect of the situation. "I guess it makes sense. He seemed a little skeptical when I was speaking with him. Who first then?"

"Why not let the lady decide." Genesis offered a winning smile once he'd finished tossing daggers at Angeal's back.

"How gentlemanly of you." She sent him back a smile and glanced between the three curiously.

"Nothing personal but you are a bit small." Angeal commented. "I usually deal with the newer recruits so I'd say I'm best at holding back."  
"That's very unkind of you." She chuckled and stepped back rolling her shoulders. "What makes you think I'd need you to hold back? But if you insist then, I'll spar with you first."

Sephiroth was still watching and walked a few paces to the side with Genesis.

"You think he'll be easy on her?" The red clad poet asked as he settled to watch with his friend.

"Only as much as needed." Sephiroth answered honestly. "No point in beating her up when she works for the same side."

"Just because she's one of your many fans." Genesis held a hand over his heart dramatically.

"I can hear you." Evelyn pointed out with a smirk, nodding toward Angeal. "On your count fellow 1st class SOLDIER."

Angeal sighed and drew the smaller of his blades. He was never one for fighting women, even trained females, something about it seemed wrong...even just training was something he still tended to push off on other members most of the time. In this case it seemed more honorable to get involved himself than ask her to fail to take on Sephiroth or Genesis.

She pulled paired curled knives and the way she carried them along her arm he read as a good sign, she had a good stance and was trained beyond most of the people he had to work with. He circled her for a while but she seemed unwilling to start out offensively, just circling him in return.

"Bit boring isn't it?" Genesis commented, egging on his friend.

Angeal sucked it up and moved forward. He was about to feint and then she moved opposite completely of what he'd originally planned, her blade settled gently on the back of his neck and he frowned.

"One." She commented lightly. "I thought you'd be a more difficult read."

She was gone again as he turned to continue the duel, dancing several steps away and smiling like a cheshire cat before she tapped her blades together. "Nothing personal Angeal...I'd like to try Genesis now."

"How quickly the tides will turn." Genesis observed, drawing his red sword and motioning Angeal away. "Come now Angeal, lets not allow her to get too full of herself eh?"

Angeal sighed and put his sword away, seeming like a old man nervous about school children playing with weapons. "Just don't kill her Genesis."

Genesis was on her without a moment of notice, and she was being pushed back, though offering parry's and defensive reactions as needed. While she didn't give an offensive in return, nor was she getting hit. Sparks erupted where steel met steel and she smiled back at a surprised looking Genesis.

"Fine." Genesis jumped back, pulling fire into his hand and holding it toward her. A moment before he released the Fire spell she finished one of her own.

"Reflect." She called out, dancing toward him with her first offense as the fire rebounded off her magical barrier and he was forced to dodge his own attack.

He gritted his teeth as he heard Angeal snicker then paused as he felt his sword pulled from his grasp, the girl spinning it in one of her curved blades with a grin on her face. "You aren't too difficult a read either you know."

Angeal grabbed Genesis before he started after her in earnest.

"You seem rather good at all of this...but I wonder." Sephiroth commented, drawing Masumune and leveling the absurdly long sword next to him. It seemed his turn had arrived after all.

Evelyn looked nervous for the first time and she called another defensive spell as she moved away from the silver haired warrior. She barely managed to block his first attack and the second grazed her side as her reflexes seemed to come to a snails pace compared to how they had been against the previous two opponents.

Sephiroth almost didn't stop short of stabbing her on his third thrust, the battles not lasting more than thirty seconds between the three of them and not even a few for the 'heroes' assault. She'd paused his offhand with one of hers and it had gotten him to stop before shiskabobing her. The blade settled near her lower back in between a thin line of the armor.

He'd heard her gasp after she touched him and the initial thought that he hadn't stopped in time had him glancing over her body for signs of a deeper injury. She hadn't made a sound when he'd grazed her leg - it was still bleeding. Her eyes though, they didn't have the slight edge of playfulness they did moments before, instead they seemed drenched in sadness, tears were close to the surface he was certain, then she feinted and he had to drop Masumane to both catch her and avoid doing further damage.

He watched her face a moment, it still seemed amazingly sad even in the slumber and then glanced back up to where Angeal and Genesis had ceased to argue and Genesis moved almost instantly away, heading to get a medical team. Angeal moved forward to help Sephiroth check for any deeper injuries they couldn't see.

_**End Chapter**_

Okay, I want to explain I'm generally against OC's that seem way too powerful but for my concept to work I needed to have the events of this chapter. Her power is part of what makes her capable of doing what I want to do with this fiction. Create someone for Sephiroth that has the possibility of saving him from his horrible fate. I hope folks like this and there will be more explained as to what Evelyn can do (and did) in the following chapters.

_-Aura_

_P.S. Reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy._

_**Preview Chapter Two:**_

_"I didn't mean to!" I repeated it again and again. A personal mantra keeping me from going mad then and there._

_The red was so much more vivid than the rest of the colors...as if the blood was the only thing I would ever be capable of making out. The rest of the screams were somehow muted and pushed to the back of my mind. A sea of white noise coming from the sidelines._

_It had been so easy. So incredibly yielding..._

_The blade slid through the flesh as easily as butter._


	2. Beneath the Exterior

**Chapter Two:** _Beneath the Exterior_

_"Who knows what true loneliness is -- not the conventional word but the naked terror? To the lonely themselves it wears a mask. The most miserable outcast hugs some memory or some illusion."_

_**-Joseph Conrad**_

"I'm not the one that possibly killed her." Genesis was pouting a little at the speech he had received from Angeal after the incident in the training room. Sure Sephiroth was in hearing distance, but he'd gotten where he cared less and less recently as to the 'heroes' feelings.

"You were certainly ready to try." Angeal frowned at his friend, crossing his arms over his chest. "You should know better than that."

"I wasn't going to try to kill her, just cause a little damage." Genesis replied with a shrug. "Either way I'm going to the playing of Loveless. It seems as if vacation will be back on."

Angeal frowned after the leaving man, shaking his head. He didn't know what his friend was thinking these days with his outbursts. He was always left playing dad to everyone. "I have to deal with Zack a little tonight. You going to be all right?"

"Fine." Sephiroth answered, looking over one of the upper sections of Midgar from the windows of the common area. His expression was calm, like his voice, but his mind was busier than he would give away on the surface.

"Hey, Lazard said she'd be fine." He offered in the best pep talk way he could before opening the door. "You should go back to relaxing, never know when we'll be called off again."

The statement was true enough, vacations never tended to stay that way for long with the trio. Angeal was off to help his puppy with training and Genesis was mad at him again. Sephiroth was less concerned with his friends and more the pity filled gaze the new 1st had given him. _"What is it she did?"_

"Sephiroth." Lazard must have heard finally if he was out and about in person. "What were your thoughts?"

"On?" He felt like being difficult. He didn't want to deal with the director at the moment.

"Evelyn's prowess for beginners. What happened, from the beginning please." He stated calmly, standing near the door and waiting.

"She fought both Genesis and Angeal with almost no difficulty. Though they were both not using full power on her. She feinted after we only fought for a few moments. I thought in our short battle she was messy and barely on the level of a second class." Sephiroth answered without much change in tone, eyeing the empty sky. There was too much light pollution to make out any stars from here.

"Evelyn is a psychic. A rare one even amongst the uncommon." Lazard commented after a long moment, as if he'd been weighing on what to say, if anything. "She can often read people simply by meeting them, knowing what they will do, their intentions, sometimes down to their thoughts or memories."

"Thats why she could preempt whatever Genesis was doing." Sephiroth commented his observation aloud, remembering how it seemed uncanny whenever she would block or cast the reflect spell just in time to catch the fire.

"She mentioned he was a easy read to the medic working with her. Something about wearing his heart on his sleeve." Lazard commented with a small smirk of his own. "I hear Genesis doesn't think much of her."

"It is an interesting idea." Sephiroth had to admit it was a bit funny that Genesis' passionate nature had backfired on him.

"Reports on her indicate with some she needs to touch them to be able to read them and occasionally she has fits where she can't control what she's picking up. She'll pull too much information at once and her brain can't handle it all in that instant." Lazard shrugged. "It seems a little strange to me but the company wants her with other people capable of keeping her alive in the cases were she passes out. Like today."

"So we're suppose to babysit her." Sephiroth commented, it was an annoying prospect.

"Those are the orders." Lazard shrugged a little, as if to say it was out of his hands. "She's still going in and out of consciousness but I heard her muttering something about being lonely whenever I passed by. You are welcome to visit her in the infirmary if you like as you'll be working together in the future, I'm sure it would be a kind gesture."

Lazard left and Sephiroth frowned a little, watching the door thoughtfully before glancing back up to the blank sky.

_**ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo**_

_"I didn't mean to!" I repeated it again and again. A personal mantra keeping me from going mad then and there._

_The red was so much more vivid than the rest of the colors...as if the blood was the only thing I would ever be capable of making out. The rest of the screams were somehow muted and pushed to the back of my mind. A sea of white noise coming from the sidelines._

_It had been so easy. So incredibly yielding..._

_The blade slid through the flesh as easily as butter._

_The rest of the students were still screaming, they hadn't seen the opening in the teacher as I had. They didn't recognize the weakness, I thought that they would have wanted us to respond to it, that they would have prepared for it._

_My gift for murder started at the tender age of seven. My melee teacher was dead by my hand...it was an instant and everything had changed._

"I didn't mean to!"

Evelyn burst from laying down and nearly fell off the bed before managing to catch herself. The vision had been clearer than most, it was as if she'd lived it herself. Her skin was clammy and there was a cold sweat that wasn't the only reason she shivered. She bit her lip to keep the tears back.

It was almost physically painful just how clearly she could recall the man's distress. There were other jumbled images still lingering in her brain but it was difficult to gather them so she let them fade into the background for the time being. It was the overwhelming sense of loneliness that had stuck with her the most. How could a man hailed as such a hero feel as if he was completely by himself in this world?

"You didn't mean to what?"

She hadn't expected his voice, normally even if people were difficult to read she could sense their presence on some level. Her gaze instantly moving to take in the man she was even then feeling sorry for.

"It was a vision..." She shook her head, not sure what or how to explain. Most people took it personally when you could see their best and worse moments just by being near them. "Um...I'm sorry if I woke you."

It was obviously late, she didn't see any other staff lingering nearby, he was sitting near the only window but it was hard to tell if he'd been sleeping or not.

"I wasn't sleeping." That answered that. She did finally pick up a bling on her mental radar but it was muted, small. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." She answered with a nod, offering a smile. "I just had a bit of a overload. You are difficult to read, much more than your fellow officers."

"I suppose that's a good thing." His tone was neutral, he was still looking out the window. His gentle silver locks seeming iridescent in the light from outside. "If you aren't too injured I should let you get your rest. Lazard wants us to leave in another day or two."

"A new mission?" She wasn't used to having to ask questions but she sort of liked the change.

"The war in Wutai." He shrugged lightly, getting to his feet but he still didn't look at her directly. "I'm suppose to be escorting you but I won't tolerate you falling behind."

"I understand...I won't fall behind." She agreed, waiting until he was closer to the door to speak up again. "Sephiroth..."

He paused but didn't turn around. Leaving her guessing for one of very few times in her life.

"It's not your fault. It was an accident." She said sadly, unsure of what she could do to help him. "Thank you for sitting with me."

"Lazard mentioned that you were feeling lonely. That's all." He left before she could reply, frowning at himself. He generally didn't worry about women, even other women in the military rarely were of worth in battle. Being assigned to babysit one was annoying but he would do his duty. It was just that...

Though the warmth and relief, even if it was slight, he'd felt at those words...effected him more than he cared to admit. Perhaps she was better at what she did than he wanted to give her credit for...

He was back in the waiting area instead of heading to his quarters. He was looking forward to being out in the country and being able to see the stars. It was one of the things he enjoyed when he was away from Midgar.

_**A few days later...**_

Genesis had gone missing after their interaction and the war with Wutai was picking up but losses on Shinra's side were amazingly low thanks to the involvement of Evelyn. The psychic was great for finding them the information they needed to be most effective. She was better in battle than he'd originally thought and hadn't passed out again so he was slowly beginning to look at it less as babysitting - slowly.

With Genesis gone and Angeal often busy with his puppy recruit Sephiroth had little to do with no particular jobs planned for the near future. His life often circled around the almost constant needs of his position in SOLDIER.

So, taking up time in the training room was a logical course of action. Though he wasn't expecting to come across Evelyn already there. She was hardly using it for training however. The sky was amazingly blue and the sands and buildings were familiar to him. It was a recreation program that recreated the lovely landscape of Costa Del Sol. She was settled in a bathing suit and laid out on a towel over the sand.

"This is hardly approved for the SOLDIER training room." He commented lightly, he was a little amused at the idea of how Lazard would twitch if he knew she'd put this program into the computer.

"Hey, it's easier than taking a vacation and then being called back." She reasoned with a smile of her own, pushing up sunglasses and squinting a little at him. "Though you are sort of ruining the mood in that getup. Don't you ever take your armor off?"

"I am always on call, it is prudent to be prepared." He answered, sitting in one of the chairs nearby to absorb some of the shade. The room had raised the temperature to help match the feel of the place.

"It's also wise to take some time to not worry about everything. The world doesn't rest on your shoulders." She winked at him and pushed herself to sitting up. "I'd ask you to swim but I get the idea you don't even have a bathing suit."

"I believe there is one at the bottom of my drawers somewhere." He replied with a small smile, her cheerful attitude was difficult to ignore. "Though the water here isn't real."

"Yeah I know." She sighed. "It'd be nice to actually go to the beach and swim for a while. So much quieter when I'm swimming."

"What do you mean?" They hadn't really spoken much on their assignments, she was constantly busy tracking or trying to eavesdrop on people's thoughts and she'd mentioned a couple places were noisy when there was nothing around. He was naturally curious as to how her powers worked.

"Well, fish don't think like other people do. At least not on a level I can track. Forest creatures though...they worry about everything. The constant paranoia was starting to get to me. Some people are quieter than others too...but I suppose we're a bit more complex than a deer or rabbit."

"What about me?" He had been curious ever sense she'd passed out.

"You are pretty quiet. Very difficult as a read but not the worst I've met." She said with a shrug and a smile. "I like it. It's nice having a conversation where you don't know what the other person is going to say before they say it."

"Glad I can entertain you." He offered with a vague sarcasm. It was bothersome to him that even unlike his closest friends he was still so different. So separated from everyone.

He didn't have time to linger on those thoughts however, blinking slowly at the girl that had jumped up and was pulling at his arm. "Come on. We should find the company swimming pool...you need to relax too."

"The company has a swimming pool?" He watched her failing to pull him from the seat, the childlike behavior a little alien for him. Not sure how to react.

"So the guards down the hall have visited anyway." She answered, ceasing her tugging at his arm and tapping her head with a wink. "Get a suit and come on. It'll do you some good to be out and relaxing instead of always worrying about stuff."

"Am I always worrying about things?" He stood up slowly but still didn't intend on following her to go swimming. If she left he could actually train for a while.

"Aren't you? Isn't that what Professor Gast was always saying?" She seemed distant as she made the comment, as if her mind were elsewhere but it brought him to a pause.

He watched her seeming to be in another world as she made the comment. It was something that the Professor had told him many times in the past. "I should stay here and train, you are welcome to go swim though I'm sure."

She seemed to realize for the first time what she'd said and she frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...I know you respected Professor Gast. I wasn't trying to make light of anything."

"You did just accuse me of worrying too much." He pointed out wryly. He had to admit that her presence was a little disconcerting but at the same time a part of him didn't want her to leave.

"I suppose so." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I guess I should let you work then if you want. But the invitation remains open if you want to come swimming sometime."

"I'll let you know." He answered politely, with little concern he ever would.

"Stay well Sephiroth." She said softly, heading for the door as he changed the program to something else.

She bit her lip as she moved toward her quarters to change. She didn't like the idea of what she was thinking about doing...but the more she considered the more she knew it was likely one of the only ways.

If she wanted to discover the identity of Sephiroth's mother for him she'd have to spend time with that greasy jerk Hojo.

**End Chapter**

Hopefully this makes things a little more explained. Not sure if I should continue or not atm...I have the idea in my head but no feedback at all.

-Aura

_**Preview:**_

_He was sneering, but it always seemed as if he was sneering. The head of scientific research of the Shinra company was settled in his white coat overlooking some paperwork in front of one of his dozens of experiments, unaware of the woman watching from a little ways away._

_It was easy to sneak around someone when you could read their mind and know when they were going to look where..._


End file.
